According to the tenets of the Christian church itself,the first people to adopt Christianity were Jews. As a religion, it originated in the I century on the territory of the modern state of Israel, which at that time was one of the provinces of the Western Roman Empire. By the 4th century, Christianity spread throughout the entire territory of the empire, embracing most of modern Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and penetrated into the South Caucasus. If we bear in mind who first adopted Christianity at the level of state religion, it was Armenia, where it happened under Tsar Trdat III as early as 301. As a comparison, in the Roman Empire, Christianity received the status of state religion only in the year 382. The most important historical role in the adoption and spread of Christianity in Armenia was played by Gregory the Illuminator, who later became the high priest of this church, the Catholicos. In honor of him, unofficially, the Armenian Apostolic Church is also referred to in some sources as the Gregorian.
If the question is about who first tookChristianity in the Russian lands, here historians have not had a unanimous opinion until now. In studying this issue, one should proceed from the fact that among the Germanic and Slavic peoples this religion began to spread particularly actively since the liquidation of the Roman Empire. Then, by the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, it penetrates to the Finns and the Balts.
Current sources givehighly contradictory information about who first converted to Christianity, referring to the personalities of the historical figure. This is a very important clarification, since it should be understood that such transformations in society, such as the adoption of religion, especially at the state level, could not occur without the organizing role of the state.
Traditionally, the date of adoption of Christianity onRussian lands are considered to be the year 988, when the prince of Kiev was Vladimir. Some researchers call another date - 990 year. The problem is further complicated by the fact that the question itself contains some incorrectness. What is meant by the given: “who first accepted Christianity”? A historical figure, a people or a group of peoples compactly living in a certain territory ...
To remove from consideration the last two theses,It is safe to say that the process of Christianization of the lands of the Russian state was a long and very complex, sometimes reversible, process. Therefore, it must be investigated in relation to the history of each nation or nationality that lived as part of Ancient Russia.
Relevant, in the question of who first adopted Christianity in Russia, of course, remains the problem of personalities.
The most frequently quoted “Tale of temporaryyears ”says that in the year 6496 (and this is exactly the year 988 according to the new calendar),“… enlightened Jesus Christ who loved her ”, and Vladimir Svyatoslavich was the prince of Kiev at that time. The adoption of Christianity by the classics of Russian history is also interpreted differently. They even used different terms to refer to this event, obviously, each in its own way understanding it. So, V.N. In his works, Tatishchev speaks of the “baptism of the Slavs and Russia,” and N.M. Karamzin - about the "baptism of Rus". Therefore, only an approach related to the search for a reliable historical figure, with the active participation of which this unique event occurred, can serve as a reducible approach to the answer.
Довольно распространено мнение о том, что baptism should be associated with the fact of the adoption of Christianity in Constantinople by the grandmother of Prince Vladimir back in 969 (or 957) year. The basis is the mention of the presence in the retinue of Olga a certain Gregory, according to conjectures, the Christian confessor of the princess.
Even earlier dates and other personalitiescalled in connection with the study of the history of Russian statehood. So, the Western European and Baltic chronicles say that Christianity was adopted after unsuccessful campaigns against Constantinople of Princes Askold and Dir, and this happened over 100 years before Vladimir - between 842 and 867 years. In addition, in the lists-registers of Tsargrad's episcopes of the end of the 9th century, there are already records about the Russian diocese, which is under 60 - 61 numbers, and these registries, as is known, were filled in a strictly chronological order.
Thus, today the question in the title of the article has only a hypothetical answer.
